The Senators are getting ready for NHL free agency to begin on Sunday

If you’re looking for fireworks on Canada Day, the best bet in Ottawa remains a trip down to Parliament Hill.

It’s still hard to predict if there will be any action at Canadian Tire Centre when National Hockey League free agency officially begins at 12 noon ET.

However, if Erik Karlsson is traded, there will be plenty of action in Kanata.

General manager Pierre Dorion has pretty much spent every day this week huddled with Ottawa Senators hockey operations staff, including the pro scouts, trying to shape the roster for next season.

While the future of Karlsson remains clouded with unrestricted free agency for him coming up in another 365 days — July 1, 2019 — Dorion does have other areas he needs to address.

The Senators are likely looking for help up front.

A decision has been made to go younger, but you can expect the Senators may try to add some depth at forward because they are thin there after dealing centre Derick Brassard to the Pittsburgh Penguins in February.

A lot of what happens could depend on the future of forward Zack Smith. A deal for him involving a Western Conference team fell through at the trade deadline, but the Senators have revisited those talks recently.

Smith has three years left on his contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.25 million. If anybody is going to acquire him, they’re making the move because they want him to play a gritty role and chip in with goals occasionally.

It would make sense for some of the teams that showed interest before to circle back on Smith before free agency opens.

If the Senators decide to deal Smith, then centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau will likely stay put. His name surfaced during NHL draft weekend in Dallas, but it’s unlikely the Senators would deal both him and Smith.

Though Dorion has been busy in trade discussions, he has also touched base with several unrestricted free agents to assess the marketplace.

It’s believed the Senators were among a group of teams that kicked tires on unrestricted free-agent centre Paul Statsny.

He was patiently waiting for New York Islanders centre John Tavares to make a decision on his future before determining what came next, but it’s unlikely the Senators will be in play for Statsny and there’s a chance he may stay with the Winnipeg Jets after making a long playoff run with them in 2018.

The Jets dealt goalie Steve Mason to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, getting his salary off the books as they tried to clear cap space for Statsny. The teams rebuffed in the Tavares’ sweepstakes could also turn to Statsny, making the bidding too rich for Ottawa.

Dorion said during the 2017-18 season that he planned to sit with centre Matt Duchene’s camp to talk about an extension. Duchene is also a year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent and likely wants to see which direction the organization is taking.

During the NHL pre-draft combine in Buffalo last month, Dorion had brief talks with Duchene’s agent, Pat Brisson

There’s talk Dorion also touched base with representatives for defenceman Calvin de Haan, who’s a free agent after several seasons with the New York Islanders. The Carp native has nine teams seriously interested in him, but he’s likely looking at a long-term deal and wouldn’t seem to be a fit for Ottawa.

It’s possible de Haan will return to the Islanders, but he’ll have no shortage of options.

David Perron might seem to be a good for for the Senators as a free agent, but there will be a lot of interest in him after a good 2017-18 season with Vegas.Mark Humphrey /
AP

One player the Senators may have contacted is winger David Perron. He finished with 16 goals and 50 assists in 70 games with the Vegas Golden Knights and would be a nice fit, but once again there will be a lot of interest in him.

The Senators are going to go with a lot of young players next season, but they’ll try to surround them with good veterans, too, which is why help up front might work.

In any case, there has been so much talk among NHL teams this week that free agency may be over before it really gets started. A lot of deals for top players are either made already or on the verge of being signed officially.

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